A known method of producing iron is described in German "offenlegungsschrift" No. 31 33 575. Carbonaceous and/or hydrocarbonaceous fuels are gasified in an iron bath reactor, producing not only gas, but also liquid iron from substances which contain iron at least partly in an oxidic form. The energy released during the coal combustion in the iron bath is increased in this method by afterburning the gaseous reaction products in the gas chamber of the iron bath reactor with free jets of oxygen-containing media directed onto the bath surface and by transferring the heat thus generated back to the melt. It has become apparent during the application of this known method that the strong development of gas in the iron melt causes liquid iron to be discharged from the reaction vessel. A bottom blown 60 t steel-making converter of the conventional type was operated by the method according to the above-mentioned patent application, with liquid iron obtained from coal and iron ore. When performing the method the reaction materials coal and ore and part of the total amount of oxygen were fed to the iron bath via nozzles having a protective medium sheathing and located in the converter bottom. In the gas chamber of the converter the reaction gases escaping from the iron bath were afterburned by oxygen from nozzles above the bath surface, and a degree of afterburning of approximately 30% could be obtained. In order to produce 1 t of liquid iron from iron ore, it was necessary to feed approximately 1 t of coal to the melt. The method takes place basically as described in the abovementioned patent application, but a considerable amount of iron was lost due to splashes which were hurled directly out of the converter, on the one hand, and entrained in and carried along by the waste gas stream, on the other hand, so that the overall process was no longer economical.